WATCH: Alligator crosses busy roadway in Lakeland
LAKELAND (FOX 13) - A Lakeland woman took video as a large alligator stopped traffic on Sleepy Hill Road in Lakeland Tuesday.
From the passenger seat, she recorded as the beast hissed at cars from the grassy median and then darted out in front of an SUV before crossing the roadway.
Sherese Walker said in a Facebook post with the video, "If anyone walks on Sleepy Hill [Road], be careful."
The video begins as the car Walker is in slows behind several other stopped vehicles. To the left is a grassy median with a shadowy figure in the middle.
As her vehicle approaches that shadow, it becomes clear the object is a very large alligator.
The gator runs from the car before hers, almost crossing in front of a vehicle in the oncoming lane, but it stops short and opens its mouth as it begins walking.
As Walker's car rolls to a stop, the gator walks toward her side of the roadway. It takes a few steps and then darts out in front of the car in front of Walker's. Luckily, that vehicle was still stopped, the driver likely waiting to make sure not to hit the unpredictable reptile.
As it crosses the road, a large notch can be seen toward the end of the alligator's tail. It almost appears as if it has been run over by a vehicle in the past.
It finally crosses into the grass on the other side and then disappears toward a wooded area. The area where it happened is right between Meadow View Lake and Lakeland Square Mall - an intersection of nature and modern living that makes a sighting like this possible.
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